Type O Negative
Dead Again

May 2007
Released: 2007, SPV/Steamhammer/Playground Music
Rating: 2.0/5
Reviewer: Anders Sandvall

The best albums by Type O Negative are, in my opinion, BLOODY KISSES and OCTOBER RUST. After that came the very boring WORLD COMING DOWN and then I left the sinking ship with Captain Peter Steele.

When I turn on DEAD AGAIN I find that nothing much has really happened in the Goth camp. Type O Negative is still delivering the same old, but by now patented, dark and complex Goth music. Luckily, the band has gone through some minor musical changes. Contrary to the Goth the band played earlier in their career, they now have several tracks that sound more like the punk/Goth metal genre. The first half of DEAD AGAIN delivers faster punk/metal songs like “Dead Again”, “Tripping a Blind Man” and “Halloween in Heaven” where the speed has increased tremendously and Steele sings clearer and faster than he has in years. “September Sun” is a slow Goth ballad and “The Profits of Doom” is exactly what the title says, a doom song.

The second part of the album is more solid and compact than the first and I really wonder how old fans of the band are going to take this change of course. The material is diverse and it sometimes feels like Steele has had trouble knowing in which direction he should go: stay with the old and enjoy the fans or try something new and fresh with the possibility of scaring away hardcore fans.

DEAD AGAIN is not convincing at all, but it does have its moments when it feels like an album from the 90’s. However, it’s not anywhere near the masterpieces BLOODY KISSES or OCTOBER RUST. If you’re going to buy this album, you have to be prepared for some serious shouting by the melancholic Mr. Steele because this is nothing like what you would expect Type O Negative to sound like. I feel shattered when it comes to the material, but I do like the second part better than the first. It’s hard to rate this album, but I have to put a mid-rating. Unfortunately, the album doesn’t grow on you; believe me, I have played it numerous times.